COLUMBUS, Ind. — A "good touch, bad touch" presentation at a Bartholomew County grade school led to the arrest of a man accused of molesting a young girl while "playing doctor."
Terry R. Cheek, a 61-year-old Columbus man, was arrested last week and charged with two counts of felony child molestation. The charges against Cheek came after a young student made a report against him following an eye-opening presentation at her school.
Court documents show that last December a presenter came to the child's school in Columbus and discussed the difference between appropriate and inappropriate touches from adults, or "good touch/bad touch."
The woman teaching the class reportedly stayed after and took a report from a 10-year-old girl who said a man had touched her in the "bathing suit" areas. She said the man had asked her to "play doctor" when she was 6 years old and that he touched her private parts.
After identifying the man as Cheek to the police, the victim described a separate incident that occurred more recently. The child said she was alone with Cheek when he pulled her on top of him, shushed her, touched her breasts and rubbed the outside of her jeans between her legs.
During an interview with child specialists and police, the victim said that Cheek previously described the touching incidents as "our little secret." When asked to describe her feelings about the touching, the victim said "This is not right at all" and that she felt unsafe around Cheek.
"Terry told Victim 1 that if she told anyone he would just say that she was lying." court docs read. "Terry told Victim 1, he would 'call the cops' and tell them that her mom did bad things to her."
Court documents show that, after being contacted multiple times by both police and DCS, Cheek told Child Services he would not participate in an interview. He also said he would be hiring a lawyer.
DCS soon marked the case as substantiated and the Columbus Police Department asked that he be charged with child molestation in Bartholomew County. A warrant was granted and Cheek has since been arrested and booked into jail. His initial hearing is scheduled for Friday afternoon.